


To Love And Learn

by Flusion



Series: Flusion's World of Pokémon [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Anxiety, F/M, Human/Vampire Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Made For Each Other, Other Weird Hybrid Species, Research, Romance, Science, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 14:19:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18477991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flusion/pseuds/Flusion
Summary: Nate and Mei are traveling on their first Pokemon Journey together, though with different goals in mind. Their objectives take them to all the same places, but in the end one of them will the very best, and the other will start their research. This is a journey that neither of them are willing to undertake alone, and they know the risks ahead of them. At least they think they do.





	1. The Start of a New Journey

_Mei leaned over me_ pressing herself against my back in a way I consider to be provocative. She rested her chin over my shoulder, before leaning in to look at my computer screen. I didn’t need to turn my head to know she was squinting rather fiercely, trying to determine what was watching. She pressed forward until she was forcing me to move with her.

              Finally she gave up on trying to figure it out and instead, pulled one of my earbuds out and asked.

              “What’cha watchin’? Something good I hope.” She said, before finally wrapping her arms around my torso.

              I pulled the other earbud out and paused the movie, “It’s a documentary on the genetic link between caterpie and weedle. How long ago they split off from each other, and some potential reasons why they developed so differently, despite sharing the same environment.”

              “We’re starting our journey today, and you spend your morning watching a documentary on evolution? Not even, like, “The Basics of starting a journey?’ ” Mei said.

              “Hey I’m drinking coffee too. Once we’re on the road it’s not like I’ll be able to spend a whole lot of time watching these,” I protested.

              “Right…. And I’m sure the hundreds of hours worth of stuff that you’ve spent the last week downloading is all porn and music.” She deadpanned.

              I shrugged.

Mei squeezed me around the middle one last time before standing back up. I watched as she stretched out her arms.

“Finish your coffee and come out soon, Mom’s almost done with breakfast.”

I took a sip of coffee and lifted my watch up into the lamp light. Not my smart watch. It had a very long lasting battery, but not long enough. Too much of a hassle to carry around so many electronics. So in favor of having to carry around an extra cord to burden my small solar battery, I opted for an analog watch. Old fashioned.

4:30 A.M.

Or about as close as such. The long hand was just slightly off. Maybe 4:29, I mused. Mom said that we were going to eat of fattening breakfast a little before five. I replaced my earbuds and unpaused the documentary. The narrator was talking about the difference between the solitary life of a caterpie versus the hive mentality of every stage of the weedle family. Butterfree live alone until they mate, and they mate for life.

 

 

Someone yanked my earbuds back out. I’m ashamed to say it startled me. I quickly paused my video and looked up at Mei questioningly.

“Nate I’ve been calling for you for a minute or so now,” she said, “turn down the volume or something. It’s time to eat. Professor Juniper called. Her assistant will be by in about an hour.”

I checked my watch again. 4:43 ish. Analog is hard. I downed the last of my coffee and gagged, too much sugar in the bottom of the mug.

“Alright. Let me grab my bag, and double check a few things. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Mei patted me lightly on the shoulder, “Don’t make me wait to eat my last meal.” She was back out of my room again in a flash.

I looked at my now empty mug, a small clump of sludgy granulated sugar, brown with the remnants of my last caffeine fix for a while. I set the mug on my desk, and closed my computer. It wasn’t going with me, but I can always finish that documentary when we stop for the night. 

Alright. Bag check. Stuff in the bag, I went over a mental list: extra pokéballs, potion, antidote, small snacks for the road, and full particle storage. Check, check, check, check, and double check. I zipped up my backpack, put my thermos full of water in the side slot, and strapped my sleeping bag. Final task. Load my pockets up. Knife, handkerchief, wallet, phone. Oops almost forgot to put my belt on.

I slipped my belt through the loops in my bands, and secured my pokéballs and fanny pack to it. I swallowed and felt a lump in my throat, which traveled down and festered in my stomach, before spreading to my limbs.

 I told myself it was just the caffeine making my hands shake. I made both my hands into fists and checked my watch.

4:50.

It would be best if I didn’t make Mei and Mom wait too much longer, so I grabbed my backpack and left my comfortable room.

 

5:45.

My watch read. Juniper’s assistant was a little late. Before I could voice my thoughts, however, a knock came to our front door. A happenstance brought on by Arceus that she would show up right when I’m about to get a pass to complain.

“Be right there!” my mother ran to the door.

I turned to Mei. She was adjusting her belt. 5 empty pokéballs and an open slot.

“You ready?” I asked.

“Readier than you, I bet,” she said.

“Hah. Spoken like a true trainer.” I lifted up my own pokéball.

It was occupied, my only pokémon. The ball had the symbol of the Draconid clan etched onto the surface, bordered with silver.

She rolled her eyes. I wiggled my eyebrows at her. Mei looked over my shoulder, adjusted her thick glasses, and then closed in. Before I could as much as blink she won. In an instant she had ahold of my ear with her teeth. She bit down lightly, and then backed off quickly.

Blushing with embarrassment I checked and saw that our mother was just returning, leading a rather curvy woman through the doorway to the living room. She had on a signature hat. A large green hat. It was a hat that almost anyone in Unova could recognize at the drop of, well, a hat.

It was a piece of attire that signified the woman underneath it. Professor Juniper had not sent any old assistant. Bianca. She was all over the news a few years ago, and had many prestigious friends in high places, namely the gym leaders, elite four, and champion. A hero. Not _the_ hero, but still a hero in her own right.

She smiled and extended a hand out. Mei and I took turns shaking the greeting. Our mother gave us both hugs, before she exited the room.

“Have fun, and give me a call before you get on the boat to Castelia. I’ll be here if you ever need something,” she said as she left.

I knew she was likely about to go to her own bedroom, and cover her face with a pillow for a little while.

I turned back to Bianca just as she introduced herself.

“You can call me Bianca, I’m an assistant for Professor Juniper. Unfortunately I’m here to let you pick your first pokemon, Mei, instead of her. The Professor had to attend an important regional meeting with some higher ups,” Bianca said.

“It’s perfectly fine Bianca. I’m just excited to be getting my first pokémon. I feel like I’ve waited too long,” Mei said.

“Oh of course. Excuse me. I’ve brought the three traditional starters for Unova along. They’re pre-trained, of course, so their very good for beginning trainers. Of course, if none of them are suitable for you, then I’m sure we can move on to the capture aspect of today,” she pointed to me, “Nate you already have a pokémon, so I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard to go out and capture something for your sister.”

Mei looked at me, “We’ll see. I’m pretty sure I already know which one I want though. Just gotta hope we get along.”

“Yup,” Bianca said, “It’s a mutual thing, so it is best to click with your starter. Unfortunately I didn’t have such a luxury when I got my starter. There were three of us and I got last pick. It took a few months before my dearest samurott warmed to me.”

Bianca unzipped her duffel bag, and pulled a small capsule out, she pressed a button, which slid a screen open, revealing three pristine pokéballs. Bianca pressed a button on the side of the capsule, and all three pokémon zapped out of their electronic confines in an instant.

Oshawott, Snivy, and Tepig.

They were unimpressive to me, but then again, they were starters. Young pokémon. Most pokémon are quite small in their first stage of life.

I looked at Mei, and watched as she examined all three. I already knew that she had a good idea of which one she wanted, but seeing them in the flesh could sway her.

 Nope.

She looked all three of them over for a moment longer, silently observing them. All three of them looked up at her in expectation. I’m sure a life with a good trainer is much more desirable for a pokémon than in a lab.

After she gave it enough time, Mei bent down and picked up the tepig.

“That particular tepig is one of a few offspring from Cheren’s emboar. You can be assured that it will grow into a fine pokémon, given time,” Bianca said.

Mei smirked, “Even better then. I would like Tepig. Could I test it in battle?”

“Sure!” Bianca said, “I can have you battle one of the other starters, or-”

“I’ll battle my brother,” she said.

“You sure Mei?” I asked her.

I already knew the answer though, and pulled my Draconid pokéball from its slot on my belt.

“let’s step outside then,” Bianca butted in, “Even young pokémon can cause quite a disaster in the home.”

I couldn’t agree more. My own mon has, on more than one occasion, broken the kitchen table.

“I’m sure there’s a good space in the gym,” I said.

“Oh we won’t need an actual battlefield now. These are weaker pokémon. Not fully evolved monsters,” Bianca waved me off. “There’s a good spot near the outskirts of town. I’m sure you know it. The famous Aspertia Outlook. I was there not too long ago, and there’s plenty of space for a small battle.”

I reattached my pokéball and prepared to leave the house for what felt like the last time.

“Why don’t you let Nyra out?” Mei asked, “We’ve got a short walk and I’m sure she would like a few minutes to warm up.” she pointed to the tepig, “I’m going let this one here walk along.”

She didn’t have to tell me twice. I double-tapped the button on my pokéball, and with the signature sound of a pokémon being released, Nyra came out, and formed into her snakelike self. As was her habit of late, she slithered quickly and coiled up my body.

Dratini are surprisingly light weight despite their size. I remember reading an article Professor Oak wrote about this a long time ago. Back when his dragonite was still in its first stage.

Nyra was a bit longer than an average dratini clocking in at around seven feet long, but she had been around a bit longer, and the divide between dragonair and dratini was rather slim. I estimate that she is roughly half way to her first evolution.

Nyra gave a soft keen and nuzzled at my cheek. She was wrapped well around my waist and coiled up and around my neck. A small and powerful body, but I did not fear that she would crush my neck, though she could do so easy.

I gave her a rub and a pat, before donning my backpack halfway, so she wouldn’t be pinned under my pack.

“Alright I guess I’m ready,” I said.

“Perfect, let’s go then, you two have a long day ahead of you now. After we battle I’ve got to show you how to capture a pokémon, but then it’s on your own.”

I checked my watch.

6:05 ish. Maybe 6:06?

“Alright I can officiate. We don’t really need one, but well, you’ll have someone calling the shots whenever you take on a gym, tournament, or league challenge,” Bianca said.

Both my dratini, and Mei’s tepig faced off against one another under a streetlight. The edges of the sky were turning a murky purple color, but it wasn’t enough to see by.

“Sounds good to me,” Mei said, “I’m ready to get this show on the road.”

“You know I won’t be going easy on you right?” I said.

She she rolled her eyes scoffed at me, as if to say ‘perish the thought!’

Bianca raised her hand in the air, “Ready, set, fight!” she chopped through the air, cutting a blurry swath through the middle of the field.

“Nyra use Thunder Wave.”

The dragon reacted immediately. She rose herself to her full height, nearly as tall as an average human, and sent out a small beam of electricity. It chased after Tepig and struck it straight on, locking its leg muscles in place.

“Tepig you can do it!” Mei encouraged, “Use ember.”

Not effective on a dragon, but her only option with paralysis.

Tepig snorted, and red flames sparked from its nostrils. Nyra attempted to dodge out of the way, but wasn’t agile enough to dodge all of the cinders. The hot fire scorched her scales, leaving patchy red marks where once blue scales covered.

“Quick, Wrap it.” Nyra shook off her burns and charged forward.

She zipped around the tepig and coiled her body around it. The paralyzed pokémon struggled in her grip.

“Break out of i-“

“Roll Nyra!” I shouted over Mei’s command.

Mei glared at me. She was too competitive against a more experienced trainer.

My dratini, encapsulating the tepig, began rolling on the ground, and took Tepig with it. the poor fire type was not doubt completely messed up and dizzy.

“Use ember again,” Mei ordered.

Nyra recoiled from the fire, and loosened enough that Tepig was able to free itself.

Alright then. Let’s try out something different.

“Nyra go for a twister,” I said.

“Stop her Nate,” Mei said.

I reacted as fast as I could, and the whirlwind of power Nyra was making fell to the side. All of the dust she was picking up fell.

“Done for now?” I asked.

Mei adjusted her glasses as she made her way over to her pokémon.

“The trainer Mei has forfeited and lost the match,” Bianca said.

Nyra slithered over to me, and coiled up into a large spiral. Waiting for a treat no doubt. I fished one out of my fanny pack, and let her gobble it up from my hand. She gave a short keen, before moving back over to observe Mei and her pokémon.

Mei recalled her tepig, and belted it, before looking up to Bianca.

“I suppose there’s no time like the present to have my first pokémon center experience,” she said.

“Right on! We can go deal with that real quick, and then we can go learn about battling wild pokémon,” Bianca said.

The pokémon center was its usual self for me, but then again, I was in there at least once every other week. I’m not an avid pokémon battler, it’s not necessarily what I want for my career, but as a researcher in things pokémon it’s a good start.

Mei came with me sometimes when I got check-ups and recovery for Nyra, so she wasn’t exactly completely stranger to going to the pokémon center, but she still had to jump through a few hoops.

“You’re a new trainer?” Nurse Joy said, and Bianca gave the affirmative, “Then let’s get you healed up and registered.”

The healing process occurred while we registered Mei. Not much, just some paperwork, blood DNA samples, you know. Usual stuff.

Most trainers registered their DNA on their trainer info and locked their pokéballs with it. It isn’t something required by law, but I wouldn’t take any risks with theft. It’s the closest thing there is to foolproof safety. Every manufactured pokéball, and pokémon, has an ID that the system tracks and matches with a trainer, but those IDs can be replicated. An entire human genome on the other hand. Well I wouldn’t call replicating that for the purposes of theft very practical.

Of course they used the DNA sampled for a lot more than just linking pokémon and trainer. Body identification, and criminal tracking to name a few. I’m sure that they use it for a few other governmental things too.

“All set then,” Nurse said, “We’re finished with your tepig’s healing, would you like to name it?”

“Sure,” Mei said, “Call him Kola.”

Nurse joy typed a few things into her computer, “and how do you spell it?”

_I-T_

“You spell it with a K. So K-O-L-A.” she said.

“Ooh any special significance?

“It’s a play on the ancient Ilio word for sun.” she responded.

“I see. Let me just type that up for you real quick, and then we can get you on your way. I’m sure you have a busy day ahead of you,” Nurse Joy glanced at Bianca.

“Something like that,” I said.

“Alright then, let’s get going. Nurse Joy called it, we’ve got some business to do,” Bianca said.

“Sure,” said Mei.

“Have a nice day Nate, and for you two ladies as well,” Nurse joy waved to us.

“So this is a little lesson you’ll need too right Nate?” Bianca said.

“Yeah. I haven’t really gone out much. Enough to get some battles in, but I haven’t really gone searching for any pokémon.” I said.

I didn’t really have time for more pokémon until my journey started. School, study, and a dragon type were plenty for me. Now I’ve graduated, and Mei waited for me a whole year in order to start our journey together.

“Alright, so you’ll probably have to practice a lot to get the aim down. A strong impact it required to active the opening mechanism in the pokéball. At least for the sake of a capture. For now, we’ll head out and see what we can see. Professor Juniper wanted me to catch a few pokémon while I was out. For her studies,” Bianca said.

The green hatted girl hefted an empty pokéball in one hand, and with her off-hand she summoned her own pokémon to play. A lillipup.

“This lil’ girl is one of my pokémon’s babies. I’ve been raising her up from an egg.”

Bianca’s lillipup barked, and began to sniff around. She alerted in a direction, and Bianca patted her on the head.

“Did she catch a scent?” Mei asked.

“Yes. She’s really good at tracking. It seems we got lucky and there’s a pokémon nearby.”

              Bianca crouched down, and motioned for us to copy her. Mei did so, and I followed behind last in line. Bianca’s lillipup guided us to the scent.

              We traveled carefully through the tall grass, left purposefully as a place for local pokémon to have shelter. In some spots it was only about waist height, but in many places, the grass and trees were taller than I am.

Bianca stopped them for a moment, “See this area here? It looks like a trail. A lot of pokémon use this to travel quickly through the grass. We can wait here for something to come by, but our best chances are to follow the scent.”

Bianca adjusted her large hat and pulled at her hair before motioning for us to go forward.

We didn’t travel for too much more before coming across our goal. A purrloin, sleeping in a small makeshift nest. A dangerous place for such a pokémon to be during the day. The creature had partially covered itself with grass and plastic, but it wasn’t enough to save it from Bianca’s lillipup.

“Alright girl, wake it up with a growl, and tackle,” Bianca commanded.

Her lillipup yipped and growled. She snarled in a way completely uncharacteristic for something so small and cute. It served to remind me that all pokémon, no matter how small, could be potentially dangerous.

The job was done, and the purrloin was now wide awake and hissing aggressively back at us. It was interrupted, however, when Bianca’s small pokémon charged it, and sent it reeling onto its back.

Then she quickly tossed a ball at it before it could stand up. The purrloin was absorbed into Bianca’s pokéball, and the small capsule fell to the ground and began to quiver. A tense atmosphere settled around the three of us, or at least me.

Watching the pokéball wiggle back and worth forced my stomach to seize up in anticipation, and before I realized it, I had made some very tight fists. It made me wonder how it might feel to capture my own pokémon.

Unfortunately it was not to be. The purrloin broke out of it confinement, and zipped away before Bianca could react with another order.

She sighed, and stood straight up, “With really flighty pokémon like a purrloin it’s best to try and make the capture earlier than usual. Most of the time you want to battle with it a little longer, but this one definitely did not want to battle us. In cases like these it might be better to just let them run away. Once, I spent nearly a week chasing the same deerling haha. I never did catch it.”

“Sounds rough,” Mei said. And it was, “You were that bent on catching a deerling?”

“Yeah,” Bianca retrieved her broken pokéball, “I did eventually catch one, but it kinda felt like I would have appreciated it more if I had caught the one I chased for so long.”

“Does that give you a bit of an idea of how catching a pokémon might be like? Remember that most pokémon are hard to catch as they are. You’ll need to battle them, or wear them down with a chase. Wouldn’t hurt to put them into a forced sleep or something either,” She said.

“Any other tips?” I asked her.

“Well, I guess it’s good to practice your aim. Get a baseball and toss it back and forth. It’ll feel pretty embarrassing to miss a catch because you didn’t hit the pokémon with the ball. Maybe download an encyclopedia of footprints for tracking. One of my friends did that on his journey.”

“Already got the encyclopedia right here.” Mei hooked her arms under either side of me, and grabbed onto my shoulders.

I leaned back and bumped her forehead, “I only know a few though. Mostly the ones that live around here.”

“Be careful, I’ve got glasses on.”

“Sorry.”

“Well,” Bianca laughed, “I think I gave you a fair enough demonstration. Tracking ‘mons won’t be as easy as today unless you get yourself something with a good nose. Keep that in mind. I’ll walk with you both back to the trail, but then we need to split up.”

“Why is that?” Mei asked.

“Well, I’ve got, erh, business at the gym in Aspertia, then I’ll be flying back to Nuvema town.”

              “Alright,” I said, “Lead the way.”

              I wanted to get back on the road. The sun was beginning the rise, and I wanted to make some headway before it heated up too much. I do not like summer.

              The trip back through the grass was much shorter than our excursion into it.


	2. A Few Misgivings

“Why do you think Bianca needs to go to the Aspertia gym?” Mei asked.

“Who knows,” I said, “Cheren and Bianca went on a journey together. She might be wanting to see him out in this empty corner of Unova. Cheren picked a rather removed place to have his gym.”

I took out my handkerchief and wiped at my brow. The sun was just rising, and it was already heating up to levels I would call unbearable.

Mei poked at my shoulder playfully. She couldn’t possibly know what even just her light touch might do to me. That sort of casual contact was something I have always cherished between us.

“You sure you don’t have ice type DNA instead of dragon?” Mei asked.

“Of course not”

I bunched up my handkerchief into a long piece, and stuffed it halfway into my back pocket. Easy to see red, and easy to grab should I need it.

“You’re right,” she said, “What _am_ I thinking. Of course I should be the one complaining about the sunlight, though I guess I can actually _see_ now that it’s brighter.” She adjusted her glasses.

I once made a comment on how I liked it when she wore glasses with a larger rim, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wear something more conveniently sized since. They’ve got to be heavy, considering how thick the colored glass is.

I took a deep breath, and look on ahead. The nerves were getting to me again. Thick butterflies flew heavy in my stomach. I would never tell somebody about my nervousness. The road ahead was empty. Unova has a large population, but almost nobody travels by foot anymore. There are too many convenient highways for that. I doubt we’ll see another soul until we make it to Floccesy.

The kind of nervousness that makes me shake. That’s what I’m feeling. It hit me again, and it comes in waves. My handwriting would barely be legible if I wanted to write a note down. And odd constricting feeling at the bottom of my throat. It felt like my body was preparing to expunge my breakfast, but I knew I wouldn’t puke.

              I adjusted the neckline of my tee-shirt, and then pulled at the bottom to readjust it.

              Suddenly a force glomped onto me, pushing me to the ground. Mei was now straddling my lap. And all around being quite distracting.

              “Hey now,” I said, “This isn’t a good place to be doing this.”

              “Oh hush up.” She pressed her forehead against mine, “no one is around to see us,” she whispered.

              I rested my hands against her waist and pulled her closer to me, “It’s too hot to be doing this now.”

She weighed on me in a way that was most definitely a mix of completely comfortable, and incredibly painful. It was a familiar feeling, and I welcomed it.

Mei wrapped her arms over my shoulders, and trailed her fingers down my back. Even through my shirt I could feel her nails glide over my skin. They would have left small lines down my back had I been without clothing. She finished pushing her own body against me, and leaned her head over my shoulder, cradling herself on my neck.

In that moment, when she didn’t continue moving forward, I considered that perhaps she was not actually in the mood for something more. With this thought, I relaxed into the light grip she held over me.

Actually it would be inappropriate to call her ownership of me in that moment a light grip. An onlooker might see a young man embracing a woman, but that was not so. She had me in an effective cage. Not a physical cage, because I might definitely escape if she tried, but one of feelings.

I resigned to enjoy the moment. It was not often that we could embrace like this without fear of repercussion.

As I lifted my arms to embrace her in something more like an actual hug she took action. She removed her head from its safe spot between my shoulder and neck, and move it up towards my own. Gently, softly, she let her lips slide off mine in an electrifying pass. She brushed by again, and on the third time she stopped.

Any hopes that she was content to stop at cuddling fell away. In fact, I let them fall away. I embraced her as she connected herself to me. I hummed into her mouth, a greeting which gave her full permission. Affirmation that she might continue.

Continue she did.

Mei removed her arms from their embrace, and without moving her own lips from mine, she pushed me down to the ground, following with her own body. I took her right hand in my left, and squeezed gently. With my right, I gently pressed a finger against her back, drawing a lazy circle, and then another, and another.

I opened my eyes to see she was very caught up in the moment. We both stopped and for a second and took a few breaths, and before I gave her the ready signal she dove back in, and recaptured me with her lips.

              Here I allowed her to freely explore the space within my mouth. She was soft and gentle as she ran about touching all of her favorite spots within me. She stopped and lingered on the spot where I always bit and chewed at my cheek.

              Suddenly she pulled away, and opened her eyes to look at mine.

              “You know you’re bleeding again,” she whispered, then she trailed her tongue down from the corner of my mouth to the base of my neck, where she planted a kiss.

              “I didn’t know.” I removed my hand from her back, and let it rest in the grass beside me.

              Mei hid her face in the crook of my neck again, and began a series of small kisses along my collarbone. She was being rather aggressive today.

              _I want this so bad_

“We should stop,” I said.

She looked up at me, and her tongue was sticking out slightly in concentration, a look of confusion in her eyes.

She sat all the way up, scooted forward, rubbing in a way that I knew wasn’t entirely for my benefit, and trailed on hand absently down my abdomen. It reached me belt.

“You _sure_ about that?” Without looking, or even acknowledging that she was doing anything, her hand slipped its way under my belt, and with it, my jeans.

I don’t wear my belt especially tight. It’s just there for if I need it.

I reached around, and grabbed ahold of her wrist before she went any further.

“I am sure about that. What even brought up this mood?”

Mei sighed, and lied back down over my body. She took a hand and ran it through my hair.

I wrapped an arm around her waist again to support her balance.

“Don’t tell me you aren’t nervous. You can try to lie to me, but I’ve already tasted the blood.” She said.

I felt the lump in the throat again. The one telling me I need to puke. It sends and unconscious shiver through my fingers.

I sighed, “This journey. You know…. It’s a bit daunting. We didn’t even give good proper goodbyes to mother. Nobody is going to know for sure where we are, and the cell signal’s already cut. Almost all of the trails and paths in Unova are dead zones. I checked and the only trail we’ll be walking within the next year with any cell or GPS service is after Nimbasa.”

She didn’t laugh or anything like that, “You’re worried about using your phone and gps? We’re on a journey. We’re _allowed_ to get lost.”

“I’m not worried about getting lost Mei. What if something happens to us out in the wilderness? What if you or I break a leg? If I fall down a cliff, or get caught in some river rapids. There aren’t ambulances out here.”

“No there aren’t any ambulances. If I break my leg I expect you to carry me. If you fall down a cliff I’ll follow you down and make sure you’re okay. If we get stuck in a cave then I expect you to hold my hand until we find our way out. That’s how it is.”

              “That doesn’t fix it you know. I can’t help it.”

              Mei leaned in and kissed me again, “Then don’t fix it. Stop for a minute and think. What’s happening right now? Go on. Tell me.”

              “Um, I’m laying down in the grass.”

              “uh huh.” She looked at me again. Waiting.

              She’s really not making this easy for me is she? She never does. Never before has she just coddled me, brushed things aside, or belittled me. Never before has she let the simple answer slide either.

              “I’m hugging someone special. And she’s….” Mei went for my ear again, “She’s rather, quite distracting. Sometimes I find it hard to focus when she is so damn sexual.”

              She went for the throat. Literally and figuratively. There she growled a rather animalistic growl which reverberated in my ears. Her two canines, sharper than the normal humans’, pricked at my skin. She’d bitten me before but never in such a sensitive place.

              “Really, can we stop now?” I asked.

              She let go, “Sorry.”

              She wasn’t sorry. She stopped though. I gently pushed her away, and she rolled off of me onto the wet grass.

              “Good. Can we get going then? I want to make some progress before the sun hits its peak. We can rest for a bit during the early afternoon when it really gets hot.”

              “You need to lighten up a bit Nate. We’re on a _journey._ Do you know what that means? We don’t need a schedule. We can do whatever we want. When we want to. All that matters is that we get to the end, but the stuff that happens in the middle is up to us,” Mei said.

              I rolled onto my stomach, and picked myself back up. Then I dusted myself off. I adjusted my pants. They were rather uncomfortably tight at the moment.

              “How about this then,” I said, “I _want_ to take a lunch break around noon. And then I think I might take a nap under the shade of a tree.”

              I held out a hand for Mei, and she took it without thought. I helped her up on her feet again, and she readjusted her shorts.

_When did she unbutton them?_

              Sometimes I feel like Mei just goes at her own pace. And that pace tends to be far too fast for the eye to follow in my humble opinion. It’s her zippy personality, I think, that catches most people when they first meet her.

              They say that a lot vampires are like that. They tend to move through life in a way that resembles the characteristic flight pattern of the bats they are descended from. She moves forward, but in her own way. It’s hard to predict from the outside what she might be doing or wanting to do at any moment.

              Mei grabbed onto my hand, “Are you ready to go then? I like that idea of a nice summer nap under a tree.”

              She began dragging me along, giving me no time to respond. 


End file.
